Thunder's Isaiah Joe Talks Adjustments For Mavs' PJ Washington

P.J. Washington has been nothing short of pivotal against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Dallas Mavericks forward has risen to the occasion during the series, helping the team immensely on both sides of the ball -- with his offensive production increasing heavily this series.

For the Thunder -- down 2-1 in the series with an upcoming Game 4 matchup in Dallas -- slowing Washington down will be essential to winning the contest and squaring the series up at two games a piece.

In Game 2, Washington logged 40 minutes, scoring 29 points while knocking down 7-of-11 3-pointers in the game. He helped the Mavericks steal a game in Oklahoma City behind an incredible performance. Then, heading back to Dallas, Washington logged 40 minutes again in Game 3, scoring 27 points while knocking down five 3-pointers. He's making the Thunder defense pay, and an adjustment is needed for the Thunder heading into the fourth game of the series.

Thunder sharpshooter Isaiah Joe weighed in on the situation on Sunday.

"He's been shooting the ball really well. We can't flinch too hard at that, make minor adjustments," Joe explained. "All in all, we really just gotta execute our game plan. That's what it came down to, just executing our game plan, eliminating the easy ones. Transition buckets, offensive rebounds, you know, second chance opportunities. So, eliminate those."

It seems the Thunder isn't going to make any major adjustments. This is reasonable. Overcompensating could hurt the Thunder in other areas, and small adjustments could make the difference. Throwing off their rhythm as a team will be huge, making getting in his flow more difficult for Washington.

Playing rookie Cason Wallace heavier minutes, letting him guard Kyrie Irving with Lu Dort on Luka Doncic would allow Jalen Williams to focus on defending Washington.

Again, no substantial changes seem to be coming. The Thunder will make small tweaks and work on executing their game plan, as Joe alluded to, as they try and even up the series on Monday.

Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.